Ancienne abbaye bénédictine

English translation

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History

Count Madelgaire, ambassador of King Dagobert, and better known under the name of Saint Vincent, undertook its construction in 643 in a place called "Altus Mons", a particularity which could be at the origin of the name of the city: Haut Mont. Quickly monks from Ireland came to live there. With more than 300 members, it was one of the most important abbeys of the Merovingian kingdom and is said to have received prestigious visitors such as Charlemagne. From the 11th century, it was Benedictine monks who occupied it until 1791, the date when they were forced into exile. Its golden age was reached in the 16th century with the abbot Gaspard Hanot and continued until the French Revolution. The abbey came back to life at the religious, economic and political level. Thus, according to the work by the Minon Brothers "Hautmont et son abbaye", the Benedictine abbey was built in three major centres between 1588 and 1791. The courtyard of honour formed the civil nucleus of the establishment, and takes the form of a quadrilateral. The oldest building in this quadrilateral is the one located at the back of the courtyard, with the grand staircase. It served to welcome the abbot's guests. The right wing dates from 1720 and probably served as a library and refectory for the monks. The left wing was modified around 1750 and the wing adjoining the place-de-Gaulle is the last to have been built. The religious nucleus of the abbey was formed by the church and its cloister. As for the economic nucleus of the abbey, it was composed of the lower courtyard, situated just behind the current cultural centre. The place served as a brewery for the monks before becoming a soap manufacturing enterprise. This building, which later became an industrial wasteland due to the abandonment of the activity, has since been demolished. The craftsmen lived just next door, in houses that still exist (impasse Wincart). The old town hall served to store wood, powder, ropes. A kitchen garden (on the current site of rue de Maubeuge) provided fresh fruit and vegetables. The abbey was therefore very well structured and prosperous. It certainly underwent numerous transformations linked to wars and in particular to the French Revolution; its religious space was notably completely destroyed between 1791 and 1811... From an economic and cultural engine, since it owned, in the 18th century, 40% of the lands of Hautmont, but also 25 farms, 3 mills, 15 enterprises, it is today a symbol of which everyone wants to know the History. The essential of the buildings still standing today date from the 18th century, the period when they were rebuilt: the abbatial palace around 1700, the right wing housing the library around 1720, the left wing today incorporated into modern constructions. Around 1750, finally, the south wing opening onto the Grand Place. The sale of the abbey's property took place in 1791. In the central building, a glass manufactory was installed then very quickly abandoned. The brewery was brought back into activity under Louis-Philippe and a second, created in the cloister, ceased its activities some twenty years ago. The buildings visible today correspond more or less to the whole of the old courtyard of honour. Inside one finds traces of fittings which may be original, such as moulded ceilings, murals, a fireplace, and a barrel-vaulted gallery which perhaps corresponds to the old cloister. They are very often modified, the brewery or industrial use in the 19th century having necessitated alterations.